The Verdict [False]
The viral clip is taken from a scripted video and has been shared with the false claim that it shows a real-life incident.
(Trigger Warning: This story contains mentions of sexual abuse. Reader discretion is advised.)
What is the claim?
A video circulating on social media claims to show a Hindu ascetic caught while molesting a woman. In the viral clip, when confronted by the person filming, a man dressed in saffron attire explains that he was alleviating the woman’s stomach pain while the woman appears distressed.
An X (formerly Twitter) user shared the video and wrote in Hindi, “Saints have found a new way to cure diseases. A priest with a Sanghi mindset was caught promoting Hindutva in the name of saffron and God. Jai Hindutva!” Archived versions of such posts can be accessed here, here, and here.
However, the claim is false. The viral clip was actually taken from a scripted video and circulated with the false narrative that a Hindu ascetic was caught molesting a woman.
How did we find the truth?
We conducted a reverse image search using keyframes from the viral video and found an extended version published on a YouTube channel named Ashwani Pandey. The original video (archived here) is 13 minutes long and clearly scripted. At the 16-second mark, a disclaimer clarifies that it was created for entertainment purposes only.
The video portrays a man in saffron attire claiming to be a holy man and molesting a woman who visited him for stomach pain relief. Two men, who appear on and off camera in the video, catch the man red-handed, confront and one of them even slaps the man. At the end of the video, the man can be seen removing his saffron attire, revealing a shirt and pants underneath, following which he is seen being dragged away to be reported before the police.
In addition, we found that the viral clip matches the original video from 0:51 seconds to 2:19 minutes and has been shared as a real-life incident.
We also reviewed the YouTube channel and found that the channel has published several similar scripted videos with such disclaimers. Both the man and the woman seen in the viral video have appeared in several other scripted videos, playing different roles. In one video (archived here), they portray a doctor and a student, in which the man is caught red-handed and confronted, similar to the storyline of the viral video.
We have contacted the video makers, and this fact-check will be updated if and when we receive a response.
Logically Facts has previously fact-checked several scripted videos circulated on social media as real-life incidents.
The verdict
The viral video has been shared with a false claim that a Hindu ascetic was caught molesting a woman. It is actually taken from a scripted video created for entertainment purposes only.
(This report first appeared on logicallyfacts.com, and has been republished on ABP Live as part of a special arrangement. ABP Live has edited the headline and feature image of the report while republishing)
